


Friction

by CassieQ



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Post-Episode: e049 Old Oak Doors Part B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 08:42:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1976448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassieQ/pseuds/CassieQ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachelle and Dana want to pick up where they left off, but life keeps getting in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ohwhatamess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohwhatamess/gifts).



> Spoilers for the events in Old Oak Doors, Part B. 
> 
> Also, in this fic, it is assumed that Carlos returns from the desert-otherworld shortly after he is stuck there. Because I want him back. Now. 
> 
> And finally a huge thank you for ohwhatamess, who not only inspired this story, but totally made me start shipping Dana and Rachelle. I love this pairing.

**FRICTION**

         Dana doesn't look at her watch as much as she glares at it, as if the timepiece has personally offended her.  Even though time is a non-constant element in Night Vale, her watch and Rachelle's have been synched ever since she came back from the desert.  Rachelle and Carlos were supposed to be there twenty minutes ago.

         She heard a low chuckle from across the booth and looked up to see Cecil checking his phone. "What's so funny?"

         "Watching you," Cecil answered, putting his phone away. "Carlos just texted. They're on their way."

         "Wonderful. I don't suppose they offered an explanation?"

         Cecil shrugged. "Science, probably. That's what it usually is."

         Dana sighed and took another sip of her water.  Cecil was always more laid back and seemed to take his boyfriend's constant tardiness in stride as part of being a scientist. 

         Dana was not as lenient.   Dana could not afford to be as lenient. 

         Dana might have left, if Cecil hadn't been there too.  When Carlos and Rachelle finally approached, Dana was only slightly mollified by the fact that they were both red-faced and a little breathless.

         "Hey," Carlos said, looking sheepish as he slid into the booth next to Cecil and gave him a kiss hello.  "Sorry we're late."

         Rachelle gave Dana an apologetic smile as she slid in next to her.  Dana scowled, but didn't turn away when Rachelle leaned in for a kiss as well. 

         "You're late," Dana said.

         "Sorry," Rachelle said, giving her another small smile.

         "Was there an accident or something?"

         "No.  We got caught up with something in the lab," Rachelle explained. 

         "In all fairness, Rachelle was ready, but then I asked her to take a look at something I was working on and then we lost track of time," Carlos interjected. He gave Dana one of his disarming smiles and Dana felt her irritation melt away under the power of it, unable to keep herself from smiling back.  She certainly couldn't fault Cecil for falling in love with him.  

         Dana shook her head and handed Rachelle a menu.  "Forget about it."

        

         It was obvious as Rachelle walked Dana home that she hadn't forgotten about it.  Rachelle's long legs helped her keep pace with Dana's short, quick steps, but just barely.  Rachelle glanced at her girlfriend, in a conservative suit and high heels for fuck's sake and tried to remember the friendly, sharply intelligent intern that would stop by the lab in jeans, sneakers and T-shirt.  When she would smile more and frown less.  

         She missed that Dana sometimes.

         "I'm sorry we were late," Rachelle apologized again.  Dana frowned.

         "We talked about this. You know I hate it when--"

         "When I'm late, yes."

         "It's disrespectful of-"

         "Your time, yes, I know."

         "If you know this all so well, how come you're still late for our dates?  Every time, Rachelle."

         "Things happen sometimes. Unexpected things. Especially in Night Vale."

         "I know that. But you didn't even text-"

         "Carlos did-"

         "I'm not dating Carlos," Dana interrupted.  Her stride, if anything, became quicker and more staccato.  "I'm a public figure now.  If my own girlfriend can't respect my time, how can I expect other people to? If they see you late all the time and I just let it go, then what's to say that they won't think I'm being overly lenient towards outsiders?"

         "Excuse me, Ms. Cardinal," Rachelle said coolly.  "I didn't realize I was going to be dating a politician when I asked you out." She winced inwardly at the look that Dana gave her.  _Stick with science Rachelle, it's what you're good at._

"I didn't choose this, Rachelle. This was a title given to me, it doesn’t matter whether I wanted it or not.  I have a responsibility now, to the town."

         "That trumps my responsibility to my work, is that it?  I have to be respectful of your time and make sure _you_ look good because you're a public figure, and I am supposed to put that above my job?  Not show up five minutes late for a date, even if leaving early means losing months of scientific data because I wasn’t there for the final phase of an experiment? You've been mayor for a few months, Dana, and you didn't even _want_ the position at first.  I've been a scientist for years; this is something I've worked all my life for, and I don't want to have to give it up.  Not even for you."

         "I'm not asking you to!" Dana nearly shouted back. They had reached Dana's apartment; she had refused to move back in with her mom and brother while the menace of a five-headed dragon with few qualms about killing humans hung over her head.

         "Really?" Rachelle asked as Dana unlocked the door and stormed inside.  "Because it seems to me that you are. If you want me to put you above my work, then you can't put Night Vale above me."

         "I have never put Night Vale above you," Dana said, throwing her keys down on the table. Her voice was strained, on the verge of cracking, a sign that Rachelle should back off if she chose to heed it.

         She didn't.

         "Oh really?" Rachelle hated the heated venom she could hear in her voice, but couldn't keep the words from spilling out of her traitorous mouth. "I don't recall being the one that you chose to rescue from the Company Picnic."

         The second that the words left Rachelle's mouth, she knew she had gone too far. Dana spun around and her eyes were wide and shiny with tears, a soft deep black that had first drawn Rachelle in.

         Rachelle had never seen her girlfriend cry. 

         "Dana, don't-"

         "Get out." Dana's voice was a harsh, hoarse whisper.

         "Dana..."

         "Get out!" Dana shouted.  "Now!" 

         Stunned, Rachelle stumbled back as Dana advanced on her and before she knew what was happening, the apartment door was shut in her face and Rachelle heard the tumblers falling into the place on the other side.

"Dana?" Rachelle knocked on the door. "Dana, baby, I'm sorry. Shit, Dana, let me back in. Dana?  Please..."

         Rachelle banged on the door until her hands ached, but there was no response.  She finally relented when the door neighboring Dana's began to rattle in a threatening manner.

         Discouraged and angry at herself, Rachelle trudged home. 

 

         Things had not gone the way she'd expected ever since Dana came back.  Before Dana had gotten trapped in the dog park, things had been wonderful. Rachelle could remember how Dana approached her early on, when she had been eating her first mandatory slice at Big Rico's.  Rachelle, who had been a knot of confusion and frustration since arriving in Night Vale, was desperate for a friend and Dana had been easy to talk to, willing to listen, and incredibly smart, showing a unique type of logic that helped Rachelle unravel many of the mysteries of Night Vale that she had been sent to study.

         The easy friendship had quickly deepened into more.  Things changed one night when Rachelle was working late at the lab and Dana had come by with coffee.  Rachelle had been excitedly telling her about some new experimental results, and seeing Dana smiling and staring at her with those dark eyes had tripped something inside Rachelle. The next thing she knew, her mouth was on Dana's and after one heart-stopping moment, Dana started kissing her back.

         After that, there had been fewer late nights at the lab, more lunch dates and lots of kissing at Rachelle's tiny flat.     

         Rachelle had mixed feelings when Dana became an intern at the NVCR.  She was happy for Dana, who was obviously thrilled with the opportunity, but everyone in the lab knew that interning at NVCR had a negative impact on life expectancy. Rachelle told herself that Dana would be okay. Dana was smart and resourceful.   For a few weeks, it seemed like everything would be fine.

         Then there was poetry week, and the Dog Park opened.  When Rachelle heard that Cecil had sent Dana to the Dog Park, she had abandoned the project she was working on and ran for the door.  When the other scientists tried to restrain her, she ended up giving Dave a black eye and elbowing Carlos so hard that she cracked one of his ribs. By the time she had gotten past the SSP agent outside the lab and was approaching the Dog Park, Dana was still herding the last few citizens out.       

         "Dana!" Rachelle tried to elbow her way through the knot of onlookers huddled right outside the Dog Park. Through the still open gates, she could see Dana in front of a black stone monolith, surrounded by City Council members and a few curious Night Valians that would not be deterred. "Dana, dammit!"

         To her immediate horror, she saw the gates to the Dog Park start to close.  She dashed forward but terrified citizens fleeing the park blocked her progress.  She saw Dana turn, cell phone in hand and met her bleak, terrified gaze as the gates slid shut.

         Rachelle lunged forward and had hit the obsidian walls full force as they closed.  The resultant injuries left her in Night Vale General Hospital for nearly a month.  Carlos had threatened to send her back home. 

         At first, Rachelle thought Dana was dead.  Then the texts started. And the phone calls. And a renewed interest in the house that didn't exist. 

         Then the ever-looming presence of Strex eclipsed everything and when it was over, Dana was back--with a new title.

        

         It might have been a bit naive of her to expect that they could just pick up where they left off, Rachelle thought as she unlocked the door to her flat.  She undressed and flopped onto her bed, cell phone in hand, hoping for a text or call from Dana once she calmed down, but it remained silent.

         The next day there was still no word from Dana.  Rachelle, who had slept little and fitfully in an empty bed that felt colder than usual, was tired and distracted, fumbling through most of her work that morning. Later that afternoon, Carlos approached her lab table.

         "Hey, you busy?"

         Rachelle pushed back from the table, blinking eyes that felt dry and swollen in her sockets. "What's up?"

         "There's some bioluminescent moss growing near the Whispering Forest that I would like to get a sample of."

         After Carlos had ended up in the same desert otherworld that Dana had been trapped in, they agreed to use the buddy system when doing research outside the lab, and especially so in places like the Whispering Forest, which had less impact on groups of people than individuals. 

         Rachelle followed him out into the blistering heat and glaring sun, walking down the street.

         "Riya didn't want to accompany you?" Rachelle asked.  She was the closest thing to a botanist that they had.

         "I didn't want to ask her. She had trouble resisting the Whispering Forest last time."  Carlos glanced at her, and Rachelle met his curious gaze for a few seconds before looking away.  "Are you okay?"

         Rachelle felt color spill into her cheeks.  "Why do you ask?"

         "Well, for starters you look like hell.  I can tell that you haven't been sleeping.  And Cecil seems to think there's been some...friction between you and Dana recently."

         Rachelle sighed. "We're just fighting a lot is all."

         "About her being the mayor?"

         "Well...yes and no. It's just since taking on the role it seems like the things there were previously an issue are more so now."

         "Like what?"

         Rachelle bit her lip. She usually preferred to leave her personal life out of the lab, but it was Carlos.  They had gone through school together, had supported each other through the grueling process of obtaining their degrees, and when Carlos got the job in Night Vale, he had personally requested her to join him. As the most senior scientist on the team after him, she had kept things running during his desert sojourn. There was no one else she trusted more than him.

         "I just feel like, sometimes, she cares more about her work than she does about me, that's all," Rachelle finally admitted.

         "Why do you think that?"

         Rachelle shrugged. "Well, when she was interning, she went into the Dog Park because Cecil asked her to and got trapped. Then she rescued him, and only him, from the company picnic."

         "Are you jealous of my boyfriend 'Chelle?" Carlos teased.

         Rachelle rolled her eyes. "No.  But she did all these things for him because he was her boss. And now, ever since she came back, everything I hear about is her new job.  She's always stressed out and always worried about _something_.  I just wish I was as important to her as Night Vale is."

         "Why do you think you're not?" Carlos asked.  "Rachelle, Dana and Cecil are both dedicated to their town, to the point where Dana might go into the Dog Park or Cecil might go for a ride on the subway even though they know it is dangerous.  It's just a part of who they are.  The same way certain scientists might decide to explore cities in bowling alleys. Or run into the house that doesn't exist before we were done running tests," he said, giving her a gentle nudge in the arm. 

         "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"  Rachelle grumbled.

         Carlos grinned at her. "My point is Dana and Cecil are going to do dangerous things for their town, the way we do dangerous things in the name of science.  Do you think that means I love Cecil any less than he loves me, or that you love Dana any less? Do you love Dana less than you love science?"

         "No! I love them both."

         "Do you love one more than the other?"

         "No, why should I have to chose?"

         "Why should Dana?"

         "At least you know Cecil loves you."

         "And you think Dana doesn't?"

         Rachelle shrugged again. They were approaching the edge of the Whispering Forest and communication was temporarily halted as they both donned earplugs to collect samples.  Having another person present helped resist the temptation of the Whispering Forest but there was no sense taking chances.  Only while returning to the lab with the sample safely locked away in a metal box did Carlos broach the subject again.

         "I talked to Dana quite a bit while I was in the desert with her," Carlos said. "She missed you."

         Rachelle glanced over at him. "She talked about me?" she asked, doubt clear in her voice.

         "Yeah. I probably shouldn't be sharing this, but she was worried about you.  And she was especially worried about you and the rest of the team after the Company Picnic."    

         "Could have fooled me."

         Carlos raised his eyebrows at her tone.  "Don't act so clueless. You know Dana wanted nothing more than to see you.  But she knew that the town needed Cecil if they were going to recover from the Parade Day fiasco, so that he could communicate events, restore morale and rally the troops. She knew that she needed him if we wanted a safe place for you to come back to.  Saving you was what she wanted, but she did what she thought was best for the town instead.  But don’t think she isn't still harboring a hell of a lot of guilt about it."

         _And I just took all that guilt and flung it in her face,_ Rachelle thought. Christ, she was the worst girlfriend ever.

         "I just--I just wish we could talk like we used to.  She's not the same Dana I used to know."

         "Of course she's not. You're not the same Rachelle that first traveled with us to Night Vale either.  Maybe you just need to get to know this Dana better."

         "Maybe," Rachelle said thoughtfully.

 

         Rachelle walked Carlos back to the lab, but instead of rejoining the rest of the team, she made a detour by City Hall instead. 

         "Is Mayor Cardinal in?" Rachelle asked.

         Trish Hidge arched an eyebrow. "The false mayor is busy in a meeting right now."

         "Can you ask if she is available?" Rachelle asked.  "I need to speak to her about something important."

         Trish got up from her desk with an obvious sigh and disappeared through the door, returning a few moments later, looking faintly pleased.  "Our fallacious mayor says that she is unavailable to visitors today but if you would like to schedule an appointment-"    

         "No," Rachelle said. "Thank you."

         It stung that Dana had refused to see her, but Rachelle could understand.  She had been selfish and had fucked up.  Dana was right to be angry.

         But Rachelle was persistent. It was the fourth thing a scientist was. She left work a little early and went to Dana's apartment.  After no answer when knocking, Rachelle spread her lab coat down on the ground and sat down next to the door.  Eventually, Dana would have to either come in or out of that door. 

         After waiting about an hour, she heard Dana's voice and a few moments later, the woman herself came around the corner.  Cecil was with her and she was laughing at something he had said.  Dana's welcoming smile faltered as she saw Rachelle getting awkwardly to her feet by the door, and that stung too. 

         Cecil's eyes slid from Dana to Rachelle and back, but he didn't say anything, just kissed Dana on the temple, gave Rachelle a friendly wave and jogged off. 

         "Dana, I-"

         Dana held up a hand to cut her off, then unlocked the door and wavedRachelle inside.  Dana locked the door behind her and Rachelle followed her into the bedroom, where Dana unpinned her hair. "What do you want Rachelle?"

         "To apologize firstly. I didn't mean what I said to you the other night and it was unfair, cruel and wrong."  Rachelle watched Dana's hair tumble down from its bun to bounce around her face.  Rachelle could remember the feel of it against her fingers when she would kiss Dana, pressing her face against the tight curls and breathing in the smell of Dana's shampoo as she fell asleep.

         "Fine," Dana said, combing her fingers through her hair and sitting down on the bed to unbuckle her shoes.  "Apology accepted."

         "No." Rachelle knelt down by her feet and undid the buckle for her.  She slid a hand around a delicate, nylon-sheathed ankle as she removed the shoe. "Is this okay?"

         Dana was staring down at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted in surprise.  There was still some anger there, and hurt but it was softened now. "Yes."

         Rachelle smiled and unbuckled her other shoe, sliding it off as well.  "It's not fine.  It was wrong. I was frustrated and angry and I took it out on you and that was not okay.  It was a horrible thing to say and I didn't mean it." She let her hand move up, cup Dana's calf.  She wanted to slide her hand up Dana's leg, over her knee and under her skirt, to move into the space between her legs and press her face against her collarbone to breathe her in. But she didn't. Not yet. 

         "Don't ever think that I didn't miss you.  Please don't think that I didn't want to take you away from that horrible place," Dana said, her voice cracking slightly.

         "I don't, baby, I don't."

         Dana slid off the bed, fluid, and filled Rachelle's lap with the heat of her body and the weight of her limbs.  "I wanted to take you away from there.  And Cecil and my mom and my brother.  I couldn't bring you back to a Night Vale that was still in Strex's stranglehold.  We needed the radio station back.  And you're brilliant, Rachelle, so brilliant, but--"

         "I'm not the Voice of Night Vale," Rachelle finished.  "And that is who you needed."

         Dana nodded, and then rested her forehead on Rachelle's shoulder.  "But _I_ needed you. The town needed their Voice, but I needed you.  I still do."

         Rachelle slid a hand up her thigh, found the spot where stocking met skin and ran her fingers along it, hearing the soft breathless sound Dana made.  "Do you?"

         Dana's eyes were wide and dark. "God, yes."

         Rachelle's hand slid higher still as she tipped her head back to meet Dana's mouth with her own.

         "Show me."

 

* * * 

         Rachelle snuggled in close to Dana, kissing her bare shoulder.  Dana made a soft, contented sound.  Rachelle had taken her time getting reacquainted with Dana's body, loving the way Dana moved against her, underneath her, above her.  Even now Rachelle couldn't keep away from her, hands stroking Dana's stomach, lips painting her shoulder and the back of her neck. Dana shifted around so she was lying on her back, lifting her head to kiss Rachelle again, pulling her down. Rachelle rested her head on Dana's shoulder.

"I missed you," Rachelle said. 

         "Me too," Dana said, running a hand up Rachelle's arm where it was latched around her waist. 

         "I'm sorry about dinner." 

         Dana sighed.  "Don't be. That was mostly my fault. I didn't mean to be so bitchy about it. It was just...I was frustrated. It's been so long since I've been able to see you and then I had to take care of all this stuff with being the mayor and...I don't know, it seems like nothing ever goes _right_."

         "It must be tough, having to take over as mayor when you weren't even nominated." 

         "I don't mind the job, actually.  Night Vale chooses who it wants for its mayor and it wanted me.  But there is just a lot to take care of right now with the disgruntled mayoral candidates and trying to put Night Vale back to rights after the revolution."  Dana shifted in bed, turning over onto her side and propping her head on her hand so she could look at Rachelle.  "But I will make sure we have some more time to spend together and won't jump all over you if you are a few minutes late."

         Rachelle watched the way the sheets slid down Dana's body, the smooth lines of it and felt her throat tighten.  She needed to break the news now.

         "I didn't want to bother you with this, after all the other stuff that has been going on.  But the reason we were late..." Rachelle dropped her eyes to the sheets of the bed. "A lot of us are pulling overtime right now.  We're doing a ton of work to try to get some results to send back to our sponsors.  They are on the verge of cutting our funding."

         "I thought that you were getting plenty of data."

         "Well, we are, but our sponsors want data that's "useful" and can be applied outside of Night Vale, and so far what we have found is groundbreaking, but lacks practical application.  We've produced great research, but people are having trouble taking it seriously. And with us being trapped in the Company Picnic and having to do Strex-regulated work instead of our own experiments and then our head scientist being trapped off in some desert world for several weeks, we haven't gotten a whole lot done recently. Basically, our sponsors are losing money on us."

         "What happens if your funding gets cut?"

         "Most of us will be reassigned to other projects."

         "You too?"

         "Possibly. Probably."

         "So you would leave."

         "I don't know."  Rachelle finally dared to glance up at Dana.  She didn’t look angry, just sad.  No, not sad. _Concerned._ "Carlos won't.  He already told me. After all he went through to get back here, he said he would kill anyone who tried to make him leave again. Most of the team will go wherever they're reassigned.  I-I don't want to leave.  Not when I've just gotten you back.  And as mayor, I guess you would have to stay here."

         "Yeah, I would."  Dana brushed a lock of Rachelle's hair away from her eyes.  "So would you stay?"

         "Probably. I would lose my tenure and my job, but-" Rachelle shrugged.  "I don't know what I would do.  Science has been my whole life."       

         "I know," Dana said. 

         _I've been a scientist for years, this is something I've worked all my life for and I don't want to have to give it up._

"But if you gave up your science, wouldn't it make you unhappy?" Dana asked.

         Rachelle lifted Dana's hand to her mouth and kissed it.  " _You_ make me happy."

Dana kissed her. _But am I enough?_

* * *

         Rachelle was already at Gino's when Cecil and Carlos arrived, hand in hand and Dana arrived a few minutes later.  She was wearing a sapphire blue business suit, but had traded her conservative pumps for a pair of strappy heels and had unbuttoned the first couple buttons of her blouse for a flirtatious hint of cleavage. 

         "Can't call me late this time," Rachelle teased as Dana slid in next to her. Dana just smiled and gave her a kiss that bordered on inappropriate for public.

         Dana was practically thrumming with excitement through dinner and almost giddy as they escaped through the window of Gino's.  Cecil was teasing Carlos with some kind of joke about science on trees and Rachelle, who had drunk a lot of blood wine, was giggling madly.

         "Thank you for dinner," Carlos finally managed, obviously trying to change the topic away from Cecil's humorous rendering of their early science-based dates. "What's the occasion?"

         "Well, actually, it's something that I need to discuss with you, Carlos." Dana gripped her briefcase with one hand, the other finding Rachelle's and lacing their fingers together. "But I wanted Rachelle here too and of course Cecil as well."     

         Cecil gave her curious look but Dana just smiled.  "Come on, let's discuss this at my place, I have SSP exemption tonight."

         Once they were settled around her table with mugs of tea or coffee, Dana pulled a folder out of her briefcase.  "Carlos. I wanted to know if you were available for taking an additional grant?"

         "A grant?"

         "For your research."  Dana opened the folder and pushed it across the table towards Carlos.  "I've talked to Pamela Winchell, who recently acquired ownership of the former Strex Corporation from Erika.  You know, since angels don't exist and therefore cannot legally own property.  She needs people for research and development."

         Rachelle got up from her seat and went to stand behind Carlos, looking at the documents from behind his shoulder. 

         "If this conflicts with your other grant of course--"

         "No." Carlos looked up at Dana. "I haven't said anything to the rest of the team, but we lost our funding just last week."

         Rachelle gasped.  "When were you going to tell us?"

         Carlos shook his head.  "I had enough to tide us over a few weeks at least while I considered our options." He looked at the paperwork in front of him, dumbfounded.  "This--This is--"

         "I can set up a meeting with Ms. Winchell to discuss the specifics, but the basic concept is that you continue to work and study in Night Vale, doing the same research that you did previously, as long as it benefits and protects our citizens and our city."

         "So basically what you were doing before," Cecil said with a small smile.

         "There are some additional requirements," Dana added.  "We ask that you share your findings with both Ms. Winchell and myself so we can find ways to implement any improvements you come up with, but you are not required to share anything with the SSP or the City Council unless one of us authorizes it.  Also, you can bring in as many researchers and scientists for your team as necessary, but we ask that you remain in your capacity as head scientist, and also that Rachelle stays as well."  Dana glanced up at Rachelle.  "If you want."

         Rachelle smiled at her.  "I want."

         Carlos returned his attention to the papers and Dana saw Cecil's hand slide over Carlos' and give it a gentle squeeze.  She glanced up and Cecil caught her eye, mouthed "thank you". Dana smiled and nodded her head slightly. It wasn't often that she was grateful for her position but this time she was.  Cecil had been a good friend to her and she liked Carlos, what he did for Cecil and what he was willing to do for Night Vale. 

         And later, when Carlos and Cecil had left and Rachelle was enthusiastically showing her appreciation, Dana might even have considered herself lucky.

 

~END~

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me here sometimes: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thecassieq


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